Most of us found Eureka for a reason. A project, a proposal, a chance to put our skills to work. What keeps us here is much harder to put on a timesheet.

In a company with no office, no hallway and no shared coffee machine, belonging does not happen by accident. Someone has to think about it on purpose, every day. At Eureka, Jyotsna (Jyo) Maan happens to be  one of those people. She has led the Community and Engagement since early 2023 and People, and the Culture Circle as Circle Steward since April 2026.

Ask her to describe Eureka in one line and she’ll tell you:

“Eureka is a place where you come in for a reason, stay for a season and commit to a lifetime.”

She says it often. By the end of our conversation, it was clear it isn’t a slogan. It’s her true north, a living, breathing anchor for her leadership, strategy, experiences and experiments across the Circles she serves.

Her own reason, season and lifetime

Like most people at Eureka, Jyo came in for a project. Eureka needed a user experience designer for a client project at the time, and she brought with her agile product development and consulting experience as a social systems strategist. “Eureka became a home where I wore many hats,” she says. “Some days I am in the kitchen and some days in the garden.” For her, the kitchen is Eureka’s management and the garden is its community.

She stayed long enough to see what was possible, and that’s where the whole idea came from. She knows it doesn’t work out that way for everyone. “But I love those possibilities,” she says, “and I want others to find their seasons, and lifetimes.”

That’s the change she wants to make in Eureka, with Eureka.

Asked what advice she’d give her earlier self, her answer is simple: nothing. “I am the same person,” Jyo explains. “I have had this frame of thinking for years now.”

Culture is something you do

“Culture is the language we speak, the stories we tell and the tone we set,” Jyo says.

For Jyo, culture is easy to describe and hard to build. It can’t be a policy people sign once and forget. “It has to create an impact that is actionable, that starts with an action, that has an outcome,” Jyo explains.

At Eureka, that language is transparent, honest, authentic, warm and heartfelt. It treats differences as chances to collaborate and grow, never as a reason to pick sides. “There’s one side,” Jyo says, “and that’s Eureka’s side.”

From one project to the next

Picture someone joining Eureka for their first project. The Circle’s job is to make sure that project isn’t where the story ends. Through the Integrated Learning System, they can share what they know, pick up new skills and see Eureka invest in them. Over time, they get matched with work that suits their strengths, so one project leads to the next. Some go on to lead a practice and build a specialism they can own for years. And through the People and Culture Committee, their experience helps shape how Eureka grows.

“Whatever I do,” Jyo says, “I ask myself: is this taking someone from a reason to a season, or from a season to a lifetime?”

Belonging across a screen

Remote work means nobody has to be at Eureka. Jyo knows that better than anyone.

“We need our livelihood, but we also need a sense of belonging, especially in a remote setting. How can you connect to an individual across a screen?” Jyo asks.

Her answer is to build community, camaraderie and the feeling that “my voice matters”, with guardrails so people can do that safely. Her Circle shapes the culture by living it first. “It’s not a thing that we think,” Jyo says. “It’s a thing that we are.”

She leads by pulling, not pushing. “I’m somebody who creates opportunities and lets people come to them,” Jyo says. But it works the other way too. “Sometimes they are already here, and I create opportunities for them, building on their strengths, skills and interests.” She’ll patiently sit with a member and walk them through which buttons to click on a form, “to a fault,” as she puts it, because that kind of investment is the culture she wants Eureka to have.

Small steps, real foundations

The Circle is still young, but two foundations are already in place. Getting a People and Culture Committee up and running took time. Today it meets every month, with a clear agenda and the right people around the table. “It has rhythm,” Jyo says. Practice Leads is also under way, giving members a chance to shape the work rather than only respond to it.

Ask her which achievement she’s proudest of, and she pushes back. “It’s too early. Ask me this in a year,” she says. “I am not one for metrics. I value them, but I get excited about the impact we create.” If she had to name one thing, it’s the Circle itself. It connects the dots across Eureka’s structure and makes visible the management work most members never see.

What comes next

Over the next year, Jyo wants every member to know they can be at Eureka “to learn, to grow, to create impact, to earn a livelihood, and to have fun.” That means clearer processes, real answers and more transparency, so people “know why you are here, and just dig your heels in, put your roots down.”

An open door

Asked if there was anything else readers should know, Jyo didn’t talk about herself. She talked about you.

“If you want to change Eureka, be the change maker with us. Whatever idea you have, bring it, and let’s figure out how to make it happen,” Jyo says, “for Eureka, by Eureka.” 

If you’ve made it this far and feel inspired, or just want to connect, reach out to the People and Culture Circle at people-culture@eurekaidea.co.

Follow Eureka for more stories of impact and spotlights, and discover how you can get involved at www.eurekaidea.co.

Written by Esther Etim

Interviewee: Jyotsna (Jyo) Maan, Circle Steward, People and Culture Circle

Interview format: Virtual interview

Editorial note: This article was developed from an interview with Jyotsna (Jyo) Maan and edited for clarity and length.